Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX,) who is a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, applauded the committee’s vote to include in the Endless Frontiers Act his amendment facilitating cooperation with our close friends and allies – Israel, Taiwan, and Five Eyes Nations (an intelligence-sharing arrangement between the five English-speaking democracies of the United States, the UnitedKingdon, Canada, Australia & New Zealand,) – and excluding nations that engage in discriminatory Boycott, Divestment & Sanctioning (BDS) efforts against the State of Israel and Jews living anywhere in Israel.
Upon adoption of his amendment, Cruz said:
“This short commonsense amendment improves the Endless Frontiers Act by prioritizing our allies,and excluding countries who boycott, divest, and sanction Israel from cooperation on advanced technologies."I am encouraged by my colleagues’ decision to work with me to stand by our crucial ally at a time when it is under attack by Iran-controlled terrorists.”
The Endless Frontiers Act advanced out of the committee with six other Cruz-led amendments, including:
- An amendment to invest $100 million in projects for extracting rare earth elements and other critical minerals. The amendment contained portions of Sen. Cruz’s bill, the ORE Act. The ORE Act works to end U.S. dependence on China for rare earth elements and other critical minerals used to manufacture our defense technologies and high tech products by establishing a supply chain for these minerals in the U.S., including by requiring the U.S. Department of Defense to source these minerals domestically.
- An amendment building on his previous bill, the Blocking Evasive Attempts to Manipulate Signals or BEAMS Act, to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from exploiting Federal Communications Commission (FCC) loopholes in order to propagandize to Americans through station entangled with Chinese state-owned media outlets, citing a provision under the Communications Act, which prohibits a foreign government from holding a radio station license, to include the transfer of permits or licenses to an entity that is subject to “undue influence” by the CCP or the People’s Republic of China.
- An amendment greatly restricting the ability of the U.S. government to share our nuclear technology and information with China. Previous administrations had transferred enormous amounts of such technology to the Chinese Communist Party, at great harm to US national security. Sen. Cruz’s amendment ensures that will not be allowed to happen again.
- An amendment to address Chinese espionage at U.S. universities and the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party’s activities at American educational institutions, including the CCP’s Confucius Institutes.
- An amendment to expand a secure computing enclave pilot program, which will help provide for the secure storage of federally funded research data, especially at smaller colleges and universities, and keep it safe from theft and expropriation by hostile foreign actors.
- An amendment to prevent the removal of Huawei, an espionage tool of the Chinese Communist Party masquerading as a technology company, from the Department of Commerce’s Entities List, unless the Secretary of Commerce first certifies that it does not pose an ongoing threat to the critical infrastructure of the United States or its allies.
Congressional backers of the legislation are optimistic the final product could pass the Senate before June, representing the culmination of a two-month effort by a handful of Senate Committees to draw up bi-partisan legislation aimed at out-competing China.
The development of this intital agreement between Democrats and Republicans is also a bright spot for a chamber that has grown increasingly partisan in recent years. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY,) called the bill a “once-in-a-generation investment in American Science & American Technology.”
The final legislation is likely to include bi-partisan bills to:
- Boost Semiconductor Manufacturing
- Push back against China’s theft of U.S. Intellectual Property,
- and Confront Beijing’s threats to U.S. National Security.
Senate Aides said they expect the Senate to wrap up its work on the effort by Memorial Day.
The centerpiece of the Endless Frontier Act is $100 billion in funding for the National Science Foundation to create a new technology directorate.
